Awesome thread OP.
It's funny though. I was reading this and thinking about all those things that will happen in millions of years. Then I stopped and thought about the
years I've had on Earth.
And I realized I honestly can't even comprehend what Earth will even resemble in that many years. Honestly, it's mindboggling me to the point where
I'm going to close ATS after this post.

No way.
I get the ultimate ending part where Earth dies out from the Sun and that's presumably a logical timeline.

But humans surviving a million years from now-on Earth? Nope. Never gonna happen. Assuming we don't find a new home in the galaxy or there is no
interaction from other civilizations in the galaxy that save/preserve our kind, we have no chance of making it that long.
25,000 years. What a joke. At the rate we're consuming this planet?? Look at the last couple hundred years. Imagine 1000 years from now what damage
we'll do. How incredibly over-populated we will be(and all the horrors that go with that). How few resources will continue to exist on this planet.
The garbage alone...
It's far more likely that, in 25,000 years the only trace of our existence will be that message (others like it, perhaps) drifting out in space.
There will be barely any evidence of us on this planet anymore.

I appreciate the attempt at comfort, and normally I'm able to compartmentalize and ignore such thoughts (or avoid them altogether.) But my problem
isn't with our insignificance. If anything, I find us being insignificant and part of a far grander whole than we can comprehend comforting and
inspiring. My problem is with our impermanence. By "our," I don't mean me, or even just our species. I mean intelligent life in general. The
idea that eventually there will be absolutely no intelligent life left in the universe really perturbs me emotionally. As long as at least one
intelligent species persists, in some sense it's as though there's still the capacity for consciousness to observe and experience the cosmos. But
once there's no life left at all - intelligent or otherwise - then it's just inanimate matter and energy.

If I had some definite form of spiritual faith, that likely wouldn't be an issue. But I don't, despite my most earnest and heartfelt efforts for
decades now. Hence the existential terror and depression.

I understand and appreciate the concept of us being single stairs (or, heck, even single fibers of wood in a single stair for that matter.) I could
accept that. Again, the insignificance is something I not only accept but embrace. But if the staircase leads to the eventual demise of not only our
species but all intelligent life throughout the universe, then that's cold comfort to put it mildly.

Any effort to alleviate that sense of inevitable futility and finality feels like cognitive dissonance and an avoidance technique to me, and because
I'm aware of how those processes work, offer no comfort or peace sadly.

CeeRz But around 600 million years from now, things will start happening that will affect Earth and its inhabitants in entirely new
ways.

Our sun will increase in luminosity — the amount of energy emitted by a star — to the point that it will disrupt the carbonate-silicate cycle.

Furthermore, the increased heat will evaporate more water from Earth’s surface, and this process will make rocks even harder. This will cause plate
tectonics to slow down and eventually stop.

I think it more than likely that mankind (or Artificial Intelligence) using technology not necessarily greatly ahead of today’s, will move the orbit
of the entire planet.
This could be accomplished if we blasted small meteorites into areas of the Earth where there impact would have least damage. Or it could perhaps be
done through particle beams, carrying kinetic, that over hundreds of thousands of years would gently shift the planets orbit so that we always remain
the same temperature.

This can therefore buy us another 4.8 billion years worth of existence.

Anywhere from 1 trillion to 100 trillion years from now, the formation of new stars ends as galaxies deplete the gas clouds that are necessary
to form new stars, according to Fred C. Adams, professor of physics at the University of Michigan. This marks what astrophysicists call the Degenerate
Era. With no remaining free hydrogen to form new stars, all remaining stars will slowly exhaust their fuel and die.

You do realize that any intelligent species which has evolved for billions or trillions of years will probably come up with some solutions. They
could collect matter and centrally locate it in one area of the universe and or even create their own mini big bangs. Maybe even learn how to
contract the universe or create their own. As of right now we don't even know what makes up most of the universe ...we just call it dark matter.
Imagine the science and knowledge available to a species with even millions of years of evolution. If intelligent life can survive for billions or
trillions....they will likely solve the riddles of the universe and most likely be designing their own.

You are being depressed over an outcome which may or may not happen. Also, you can't even comprehend what intelligent life will be capable of by
then. I would worry more about humans being able to leave earth for starters.

That we live in a universe where it's even possible deeply disturbs me, regardless. I mean, true, we can't possibly conceive of what life might be
like if it were to persist over such unimaginable durations. But we don't know that that's even possible, either. It's quite possible we live, we
die, and so too will the universe and all life in it. But I do like to imagine that one or more species might be able to find a way to extract energy
from spacetime itself, virtual particles, other dimensions, or the quantum foam in some way or another. (Of course, that's all just pseudoscientific
conjecture, but it's nice to imagine because it at least leaves room for hope.)

Still... the thought of the alternative and how possible it is isn't exactly comforting.

Are you familiar with the Big Crunch theory? I didn't pull it out of my @$#

In physical cosmology, the Big Crunch is one possible scenario for the ultimate fate of the universe, in which the metric expansion of space
eventually reverses and the universe recollapses, ultimately ending as a black hole singularity or causing a reformation of the universe starting with
another big bang.

I am not a physicist. I am not even a scientist. However I have watched a lot of TV

One of my favourite channels is the Science channel. From what
I gather there is uncertainty surrounding Gravity and 'Dark Energy'. We know they exist and that they are observable truths, but we don't understand
the fullness of their mechanism. Perhaps a part of that energy is the ability to reverse itself, to reverse the expansion? I don't know. I fully admit
my noobness. I find it very interesting tho! The idea that the Universe has some ability to perpetuate. Whether it's through a 'Big Crunch' or
parallel Universe's or whatever. Alas I am biased.... I have already firmed my mind on the Universe being eternal

Indeed, this puts things into perspective - on a really 'large' scale! Thanks for the post, I really enjoyed the read. All of this reminds me a bit
of the our ongoing 'tech-acceleration' which is believed to lead us straight into a so-called
technological singularity.

This is going to be a point in time, from where on AI-intelligence will dominate and it is uncertain how humanity will continue to evolve. This is a
bit off-topic, I admit, but it does make me think a lot about 'things to come'. And the ramifications are similar to the basic idea of this post:
What will the role of humanity be in future when putting us (as the human race) into a greater context? Will we become meaningless and disappear in an
environment that is dominated by machines? Just some 'food for thought' ...

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.